BOLTON has one of the worst records for rat problems in the country.

The council was called out to almost 5,000 pest problems last year.

And figures obtained by the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) under the Freedom Of Information Act put Bolton 10th worst for the number of rat problems tackled out of 314 English local authorities between April 2010 and April, 2011.

Bolton Council ’s pest control team dealt with 4,913 call outs, of which more than half — 2,749 — were because of rats. The borough is also seventh worst for ant problems, with 670 call-outs to deal with the issue. There were also 53 call outs for bed bugs and 27 for cockroaches.

Stefan Gent, a pest control officer at Pro-Kill Environmental — which works extensively in Bolton — said the high number of call-outs could be because Bolton offered a free service. He added: “The recent wet weather has seen an increase in rats because they come up from the sewer when they fill up with water.

“The increase in fast food takeaways and people dropping things like kebabs in the street also causes a problem, as well as bad housekeeping.”

Mr Gent said housing developments in old mills could be partly to blame for rats, as it disturbs the rodent’s habitat.

Rats can breed rapidly — and can even chew through wall.

In one Bolton pub, rats chewed through brick and they were caught on CCTV licking beer from the pumps.

Mr Gent said: “One house had an infestation for 12 months. The rats were in the loft and spread to 10 neighbouring properties.

“Rats have three to six litters a year and there’ll be between eight and 10 rats in that litter, so if you do the maths you can see that’s a lot.”

A council spokeswoman said: “We offer a comprehensive pest control service. We also provide free pest control treatments for rats and mice.”